Unisex Names for Girls

Neo, indeed--though it was a male character in "The Matrix."

Oakley is one of the truest unisex names for babies, achieving a 56-44 gender distribution, favoring girls. Oaklee is 80% female and may serve as a clearer identification of sex, if that’s what you’re interested in.

Alternative to Princess or Queenie.

Lexington is rising as a place name used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic ring, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another famous place with the name.

Honesty is one of the modern virtue names, which along with Justice and Destiny are picking up where Faith, Hope, and Charity left off. Is Honesty the most appealing name ever? No, and it's also sure to spark lots of tiresome jokes. Still, Honesty is a positive quality and a lot more appealing than negative word names such as Pistol and Rehab (which both, yes, were given to five baby girls in the US last year).

Y is often used to feminize a variant spelling of a name, though of course there's nothing intrinsically gendered about it. The Karsyn spelling is slightly off its peak for girls, but rising for boys.

Finding a really distinctive name is a better way to stamp your daughter as a true individual.

Loyal has history as a boy name—most popular in the late 19th century, later falling off the charts in 1948. This was back when loyalty suggested faithfulness to one's country, rather than fidelity to others. Today it would likely be interpreted as the latter.

Modern virtue names are rapidly rising in popularity—could Loyal be the next True?

The K-spelling of Carter has been in the boys' Top 1000 since 2005. In 2014, Karter cracked the girls' Top 1000, too. Karter joins the plethora of surnames turned boys' names that are now entering the world of girls' names as well. This particular one also has the trendy Kardashian-Esque "K" beginning. The Carter spelling entered the Top 1000 for girls around the same time but currently sits higher up in the charts, hovering just around the Top 500.

Straightforward yet romantic, this is one newly minted name with long-term appeal, especially as a middle name. It was used as such for Tea Leoni and David Duchovny's Madelaine, whom they call West. Definitely ambigender, it was chosen by Marley Shelton for her daughter. 

Modern parents tend to reject Puritan names, but Noble was a Puritan favorite worth revival. Integrity and generosity are attractive qualities in anyone, so it's apparent why parents are starting to notice Noble once again, along with other virtue names like Wisdom and Loyal.

With Brooklyn, Trenton, and Camden on the rise, Harlem can't be far behind -- it's already been picked by one celebrity, and it certainly has a strong historical and cultural identity.

We'd prefer to stick with the more-familiar Cadence and avoid the overly trendy Kay- prefix.